We tend to believe that material prosperity or state of happiness as a sign of blessing; poverty or want or mourning is a curse. What is the meaning of “blessedness” in the sight of God. Jesus taught His disciples on the Mount the meaning of “blessedness” in Mathew’s chapter 5 (verses 3 to 11).
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (3)
Who are the poor in spirit? They are humble enough to bear the reproach for the sake of His Kingdom. They are not haughty. They are always in the process of learning. They will never say, “I have learnt”. They learn even from a child. They do not practice hypocrisy. They are like open books to be read by others. They practice what they preach.
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted” (4)
People mourn when they are convicted of their sin or mistakes; when they are bereaved; when they suffer physical or mental pain; when they incur financial losses; when they are reviled or persecuted. We normally ascribe their mourning to some kind of divine judgment. But what Jesus said about those who mourn? He calls them blessed and not cursed. If a child of God suffers physical pain or mental agony, we should call him/her blessed.
“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” (5)
Meek means “mild and gentle of temper; submissive”. You should be always gentle in your conduct with others, and be submissive to the authority of the Church, the body of Christ and to the authority of them whom God has placed as your overseers in your organization or the government. Whatever work is thrust on your shoulders by your superiors, you should bear it. If you are meek in the position assigned to you by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, one day He will exalt you and will give you more responsibilities.
It is unfortunate today that the people of God are not meek with the result that they are not able to inherit the earth. If we are not meek in the House of God, how can we evangelize the world, and thus inherit the whole earth? Your meekness should be transparent in the House of God. Pride has so blinded our eyes that we are unable to carry on with the members of our team in a spirit of humility.
Recently, I had sought permission from a dear servant of God in India for publishing his messages through my e-mail ministry. I was informed that he did not feel in his spirit for giving me such permission. If he gives me permission to publish his messages under his name, I will be helping the said servant of God in spreading the same messages through my e-mail ministry. Due to sheer pride, the Christian writers claim copyrights to God’s messages. God has not claimed copyrights to His Word.
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (6)
These days, there is widespread deception throughout the world amongst the people of God. They do not hunger and thirst after righteousness. They think that they have the fullness of the Spirit after experiencing the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They do not want to grow in righteousness. They are not filled with the fullness of the Spirit because they have no aptitude to practice righteousness in their personal lives.
“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy”(7)
We pray to God to show His mercy whereas we do not want to show our mercy to those who have wronged us. We are not merciful to them who seek our help, and refuse help to them. We are not merciful to the poor saints in the House of God.
“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God”(8)
These days, we find many people seeking the supernatural experience of seeing God in visions or dreams. If their heart is pure and devoid of guile, hypocrisy and uncleanness, they shall see God through their spiritual eyes. Sadhu Sundar Singh, known as an apostle of India with bleeding feet, saw Christ Jesus in a vision because his heart was pure even as a non-Christian. How he saw Christ is described below:
“…. He got up at 2 o’clock and had a bath in cold water for one hour. Then he sat in meditation or prayer and said to God, "O God, if there is a God, if You answer me and give me peace before 5 o’clock this morning and appear to me in your true form, I will serve You as a Sadhu all my life. If I do not get an answer from You I will end my life by throwing myself on the rails of the railroad behind my house, when the Ludhiana Mail passes in the morning." Sundar meant what he said. He went on praying and meditating and at four he closed his eyes again. At 4:30 when he again opened his eyes he saw a white smoke-like glow in his room. For a moment he wondered if there was fire in his room. But then came the thought that God perhaps was answering him and he closed his eyes again. As he prayed on, lo, before him stood a glorious figure with such brightness that exceeded the sunshine at mid-day. Yet he could see it without being dazzled by the sight. Then he saw the crown of thorns on the head of the figure which stood between the ceiling and the floor. There were wounds in the hands, feet and in the side which were bleeding. Having recognized Him to be Christ, Sundar turned away his face saying within himself, "He is none of the incarnations whom I believe." But then he heard these words, "I am Christ whom you are persecuting. There is salvation only through Me. If you believe Me now, you will be saved. If you don’t believe Me you will be damned fore ever."
Then flashed into his mind the fact that he had never prayed to Christ but to the universal God, to reveal Himself to him. He had challenged God that if He would appear to him, he would never back out but follow Him. He had never, for even a moment, expected that the answer to his prayer was Christ. How could he now refuse the revelation of the Living God? Immediately he fell on the Feet of the Lord Jesus Christ and worshipped Him. A mighty power like the power of electricity flowed into him and a great peace came upon him. He was so full of joy that he ran to his old father, who was sleeping, and woke him up saying that he had seen Christ and that he had given himself to Him. The father remembered the statement of that great sadhu who prophesied that this lad would become either a mad man or a great person. He told his son that something had gone wrong with his mind and that he should go and sleep. In this manner the Lord God Almighty captured for Himself a well-prepared young man to be His follower.
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (9)
Some people strive for and pray for peace between estranged couples and thus avert divorces. Are you a peacemaker in the House of God? Though there are a few peacemakers in our midst, there are many who destroy peace by sowing seeds of mistrust and suspicion in the hearts of couples. They spread rumors or canards. They exaggerate the facts. Their actions have ruined many families. These people are functioning as the emissaries of the Devil.
A spouse should be a peacemaker in the family, whatsoever the provocations from the other spouse. The aggrieved spouse should go to the Lord in prayer, and pray for His peace and should not argue with the other spouse.
As the USA and England are preparing themselves for a war with Iraq (as I write this message on 15th Feb.2003), the children of God throughout the world should pray for peace and should make every effort to see that the war is avoided. Those children of God who are the peacemakers are blessed of God.
“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for their’s is the kingdom of heaven” (10).
There is no righteousness in the governance of a nation. Righteousness means “right standing before God”. The kingdom of heaven belongs to those who face persecutions when they uphold righteousness. Injustice is the order of the day. We allow injustice to pervade the administrative or judicial system. When justice is perverted, we, Christians, look the other way and do not raise our voice against it for fear of reprisals. We remain spectators when the widows and the fatherless are exploited by unscrupulous elements; when innocent babies are murdered in the wombs of their mothers; when the sin of homosexuality is justified.
“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake”(11)
Let all manner of evil be spoken against you just because you are a Christian. Let all kinds of accusations be brought against you by your enemies before the judges just because you are a Christian. Let men revile you just because you are a Christian. Let your employer or your landlord persecute you just because you are a Christian. Blessed you are! You should “rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (5:12)